Human stem cells, which include human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) as well as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), may be useful for cellular therapies for regenerative medicine and treating a variety of diseases, such as spinal cord and cardiac injuries. A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell from which specialized cells are subsequently derived. Embryonic stem cells possess extensive self-renewal capacity and pluripotency with the potential to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers.
A stem cell bank, which is a collection of stem cells, may be useful for research and for future use in regenerative medicine. Ideally, the stem cells collected for the stem cell bank can retain their pluripotent state for a long period of time. In addition, the stem cells should not be contaminated with xenogeneic reagents.